Learning Construct 3: Revisiting the Basics

 

🕹️ Getting Comfortable with Construct 3

Even though I had already started developing my Circuit Breaker prototype, I decided to go back and complete the Construct 3 beginner tutorials to strengthen my understanding of how the engine’s events, layers, and collisions work. I worked through the Platformer Tutorial and the Ghost Shooter Tutorial on the official Construct 3 site. Both provided clear examples of Construct’s logic-based workflow and how mechanics are built using events and behaviors rather than code.

The Platformer Tutorial helped me better understand how player movement, gravity, and jump conditions are managed through the Event Sheet system. I realized how much smoother my own game could feel if I used built-in behaviors like “Solid” and “Platform” instead of creating custom collisions from scratch. Similarly, the Ghost Shooter Tutorial gave me insight into enemy movement and projectile events—helpful concepts for adding feedback and animations in Circuit Breaker (like sparks or tool actions).

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🧩 Applying the Lessons to Circuit Breaker

These tutorials helped me refine Circuit Breaker’s player interactions. Before doing them, I was manually writing long event chains for movement and interaction detection. Afterward, I streamlined them using groups and sub-events, which made debugging much easier. For example:

• I learned to track the breaker’s on/off state with instance variables instead of multiple events.

• I reorganized my layout using layers for background, UI, and hazards, improving clarity.

• I used global variables to track score and player progress across levels.

What stood out to me most was how Construct 3 emphasizes visual logic—it’s about understanding cause and effect, not memorizing syntax. This reinforced the instructional design principle that clear feedback loops are the foundation of learning.

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🔄 Reflection

Completing the beginner tutorials after starting Circuit Breaker actually made them more meaningful. I could connect every step directly to my project and see where I’d made things harder than necessary. It reminded me that even experienced creators benefit from revisiting fundamentals—especially when learning a new tool.

Going forward, I plan to explore more of Construct 3’s UI and animation systems to make my next level feel more alive. The tutorials gave me confidence in the tool’s flexibility, and I now understand how to better blend its visual logic with my educational game goals.